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Arrow and Armour

Started by caldrail, February 01, 2022, 02:41:39 AM

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caldrail

February 01, 2022, 02:41:39 AM
We've all heard players telling their GM that "I'm collecting the arrows" after they slaughter hapless villains. The assumption is that arrows are still good to go. Really? I present a thought provoking video about modern experiments in archery.

https://youtu.be/DBxdTkddHaE

So. The conclusions are that chainmail isn't that protective against archery. A well designed metal plate armour can be very protective, but still transmits the shock of the impact. An external Jupon, or padded layer, will help mitigate the impact by a certain margin. And the heavy longbow pull does not allow the lightning quick fusilade of fantasy films. Food for thought. Let's hear yours....

RemedialVoltage

#1
July 22, 2024, 09:06:33 AM
I think collecting arrows is fine. Maybe lose 20% for broken, bent or just cannot find. If there is a good reason (you shot a stone golem!) then make sure the archer knows the arrows broke when they hit and cannot be recovered.

Ombre29

#2
December 18, 2024, 01:38:39 AM
I don't have my players count the arrows but this is fairly recent. On the old good days of AD&D, counting arrows was mandatory. Concerning armor, I changed the system of AC in my homebrew rules :  there is an AC score and a Protection score...

CorvusCarpus

#3
December 19, 2024, 06:59:31 PM
I never bothered my players with counting how many arrows they shot and how many remains, however one of them surprizingly took a moment after combat to collect some, just for the role playing of it. I have to admit that was kind of cool.

MrTheFalcon

#4
December 22, 2024, 07:08:24 PM
I just do a flat 50/50 chance which is usually rolling a handfull of d6 for each arrow and counting all the 1-3s.

Kyle Aaron

#5
December 22, 2024, 07:40:07 PM
Logically, at least some of the arrows that miss will be recoverable, and almost none of those that hit. But that'd be tedious to keep track of.

I don't know. It's just never really been an issue for me. In AD&D1e PCs run out of hit points before they run out of arrows. A quiver has a dozen arrows. If combat lasts 12 rounds then it's a TPK anyway.

In principle I suppose there might be several combats and they could run out. But in practice they're usually a bit beaten-up after a combat or two, they have to withdraw from the dungeon and go back to town where they get some new arrows. And arrows are so cheap compared to all the other gear the party has they can always afford more.
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